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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27618713">into the unknown</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohallows/pseuds/ohallows'>ohallows</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, F/F, Ficlet, Fights, ZOLF IS BI ACE THIS ISNT RELEVANT TO THIS FIC BUT MAKE SOME NOISE!!!, technically, this is genuinely smth i wrote for fun after the patreon sidequest dropped</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 03:34:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>852</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27618713</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohallows/pseuds/ohallows</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Northern Wastes is nothing like Azu expected.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Azu/Zoya (pre-slash)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>into the unknown</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>ZOYA HAS BEEN MENTIONED IN CAMPAIGN SO I AM TAKING THAT AS PERMISSION TO POST THIS AS IT DOESNT INCLUDE ANY PATREON INFORMATION. </p><p>HAPPY ZOLF IS BI ACE RIGHTS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Azu’s knuckles whiten around the hilt of her axe as she faces off against another one of the weird vultures that have been tracking them as they’ve been making their way back to the inn from one of their missions. For a while, they’d just been circling overhead, and each of them had been keeping a close eye on them just in case. It turns out that they were lucky, because Cel had spotted them getting closer and closer until they were within striking distance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The battle hit more quickly than they’d wanted, and they were outnumbered and tired and it had quickly taken a turn for the worse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One snaps at her, and she strikes at its beak, missing by a hair as it scrambles back. It screams to the air, a battle cry, and Azu lunges forward to meet it, swinging her axe. The vulture moves before her axe can rend through its skin, and a terrifying tail whips through the air, whistling as it connects with Azu’s side. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>slams </span>
  </em>
  <span>into her, and her breath leaves her in a gasp as the force sends her sliding across the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Azu!” she hears Hamid call, voice panicked and overwhelmed, but his cry is cut off as another one of the monsters advances on him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azu skids toward the edge of the cliff and just manages to catch the edge of a branch as her legs and torso swing over the edge. She huffs out a breath, straining as she clings on. The branch slides in the dirt, roots pulling out, until Azu is hanging over the edge, arms aching with the effort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glances down as she tries to hold on, feet scrabbling against the edge of the cliff, and struggles to pull herself up, fingers slick with sweat and blood and grime. The drop is… less than ideal; it’s not far enough to kill her, but far enough that she’ll break enough bones or knock herself out and not be able to get help. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t have much time to think about it. In an instant, her fingers slip off the edge of the cliff and her eyes widen as she falls. She doesn’t even have time to scream as her eyes slip shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azu - Azu doesn’t hit the ground. She hits </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>, solid and warm, and hears a grunt. It takes a moment before she cracks her eyes open to see a tiefling with dark red skin and bright golden hair and eyes staring down at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello,” the tiefling says, with a heavy Russian accent and a slight smirk on her face, and Azu can feel herself blushing as she stares up at her. “Do you all need some help?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azu, still in her arms, nods mutely, and then the tiefling sets her down. “Ah - thank you. For. Catching me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was no problem,” she says, and claps Azu on her shoulder. “Piotr! Kwami! Help us back up to fight!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azu glances behind herself, to spot a stout Russian man and a black elf standing there, both looking up at the top of the cliff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We will have to climb. It will be difficult, but not impossible,” the stout man says, the one Azu thinks is Piotr, and the half-elf at his side nods. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then we climb!” Zoya calls, and leaps up to grab onto a lower ledge, leaving Azu standing down on the bottom of the cliff and looking up, a bit concerned about the climb. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well? Are you coming?” The tiefling smiles down at her, holding out her hand. Azu reaches up and takes it, gloves brushing together, and her grip is strong as she pulls Azu up onto the ledge. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who - who are you?” Azu asks, hand still in hers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am Zoya. What is your name?” she asks in return, and then disappears as she jumps up to another ledge, gracefully swinging up over the side. Her hand appears again, and Azu takes it, climbing up to the next ledge to kneel beside her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am Azu,” she says, and Zoya squeezes her hand before letting it drop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is nice to meet you, Azu,” she says. Next to them, Kwami is making short work of the cliff, and Piotr is following, looking more nimble than Azu would have expected. It’s impressive; she doesn’t know who any of these people are, and she knows she shouldn’t trust them, but there’s something about them that feels… familiar, almost. Something that makes her think that they really </span>
  <em>
    <span>can </span>
  </em>
  <span>be trusted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zoya hauls herself up to the top of the cliff, and Azu won’t pretend she doesn’t get some heart palpitations watching how graceful she is. Azu pulls herself up after her, resting on her knees for a moment as she catches her breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We will talk after fight, yes?” Zoya says, and Azu nods, still a bit shell-shocked. She pulls her axe from the ground where it fell, and holds it tightly in her grip. Zoya gives her an appreciative glance, and with a loud battle cry, charges into the fray as Azu watches.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wow. </span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i have not reread this since writing it back in may.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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